The Morning After
by Tiemiosho
Summary: Kuwabara loved Keiko enough to be there for her; he loved Yukina enough to keep his distance.
1. 03:24

Hey, 'yall! I've read some good 'ol Hemingway, some minimalist poetry, and the Silmarillion at the same time x.x Hopefully it put some good techniques under my belt. Ah, well. We'll see. XD

You might notice I changed my spelling from 'Kayko' to 'Keiko.' I decided I didn't want any flames because of spelling her name the ugly American way, so I'll just have to spell it right and try not to associate her with everybody's favorite killer whale (I still got the souvenir pencil).

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**The Morning After**  
_By Tiemiosho_  
Chapter One: 03.24

The air conditioner blasted noisily. It was still dark, and other than the hum of the air conditioner, silent. Too silent. Kuwabara slowly yawned. He tried to blink moisture back into his sticky eyelids. He felt calm, now. The dull grogginess made a person feel blissfully forgetful. Forgetful of why they would have to wake up so early, forgetful of how life bothers them so. Forgetful of whatever happened last night. Kuwabara extended his long limbs and stretched sensation back into them, only found out why he was woken up in the first place - his sleeve was soaked.

Kuwabara gazed at Keiko's tear-stained face, and remembered the events of the night before. He sighed. Gently, his large hand slid under her head and lifted if off of his shoulder; he didn't want to wake her. Kuwabara slowly stooped over as he got off of the couch. He snatched a pillow and pushed it beneath her head. Carefully, he pulled the sheets over her shoulder. As Kuwabara stood and headed for the kitchen, he glanced at his watch. 3:27 am.

Kazuma Kuwabara was an eligible bachelor. Every one he met was surprised that, at age 43, he still hadn't settled down, or even found a girlfriend. The other geologists at the university called him "Hercules." He was the man to call when something heavy needed to be moved. Even with his graying hair, Kuwabara's female colleagues found him more attractive each year. He guessed his hair colour made him look sophisticated. Master of spirit sword, dimensional sword, spirit wave, and hopefully one day, the sacred sword. He had pretty much what everybody wanted. And everyone blamed him for his misery. Either he was an ingrate, or he never took advantage of his good looks and "charm" to find himself a soul mate. But he had already found one; that was the problem.

Kuwabara came back with a glass of water and some tissues. After setting his load on the coffee table, he took a tissue in his hand. Gently as he could, he dried Keiko's face, but it still woke her up. She slowly opened a swollen eye and stared groggily at him.

"You've been crying in your sleep," He explained, and stared sadly at her. Not everyone could have those first few minutes awake without worry.

Keiko sighed and slowly sat up, wiping her face with her hands and her sleeve. Aging hadn't treated her as well; she refused to take the first of her fine lines, nor her own gray hairs, with dignity.

"Here," Kuwabara offered her the glass of water, but she shook her head. "Maybe some tea? Or coffee? Or chocolates?"

Keiko chuckled at the last remark with a new tear trickling down her face.

Kuwabara sighed sadly, and set down the glass. He put his large hands on her shoulders and pulled her into a hug. "It's tough, I know."

Keiko was doing everything she could not to sob on his shoulder. She felt like such a bitch. It was just so unfair. When Kuwabara released the hug, she felt calm. She stood back and wiped the remaining tears away. She needed that.

The two humans stood in the tiny quiet room. The howling air conditioner broke the silence. They listened as it became background noise against their own thoughts.

"Where are you going to stay?" Kuwabara finally dared to ask.

"My parents' place, I guess." Keiko shrugged at the floor.

Kuwabara hesitated again. "I can take you over right now if you want," he stammered.

Keiko looked up and smiled at him sadly. "No, Kuwabara, you're fine."

"Okay, but if you need anything..."

They both sat back on the couch. Keiko leaned on Kuwabara's shoulder, and Kuwabara placed his head on hers, in the same position he had woken up. As her breathing slowed, he felt a familiar sensation in his chest. Peaceful and anxious. Satisfied and longing. Superfluous emotions, about to burst any second. He had not felt that in a long time.

He felt happy.

He loved Keiko. Not nearly as much as he loved Yukina, but still...

Kuwabara slowly drifted to sleep. He loved Keiko enough to be there for her; he loved Yukina enough not to.

* * *

Yeah, not your typical pairing. I know you all probably have a lot of questions, but hopefully next chappie will answer them. 'Til then, have fun and study hard in school!

--Peace, Tiemiosho


	2. 07:00

Yay! People like it! (Of course, I actually _read over_ this one and really edited it XD) I know I'm supposed to know where I'm going in this story, but I haven't even a vague idea of how it will end up P

I guess it's half the fun, though.

* * *

**The Morning After**  
_By Tiemiosho_  
Chapter Two: 07.00

He had a bouquet in the front seat, just in case.

He had spent a sleepless night tossing and turning; the bed just felt so empty. He finally gave up at around four. He had found a flower shop, booked a flight to Hawaii for two, and scheduled a day at the spa all before the sun was up. It was the least he could do.

It was seven, now. He tried her cell phone again, no good.

He would never cheat on her. Or mistreat her in any way. He had just simply neglected her; he was so typical of himself. All night, a voice in his head kept chanting _"I am such an ass!"_

He had come home after three days hanging out with Jin and Chuu, which was admittedly stupid. He walked in when she was in the middle of packing. She was crying, and didn't want to talk. No matter what he said, she was determined to leave. And that's what she did.

He had called Keiko's parents, who did not take the news well. He had called all of her friends that he could think of, and got rightfully chewed out by each of them. By the time he had called his kids, he was chastized enough to know to beat around the bush. The triplets Ami, Mao, and Tora were in their respective colleges, and hadn't heard from Keiko at all.

At this point, he felt overly optimistic to check Kurama's place, then his mom. No sign from Genkai's old temple, either. He hadn't visited any of those places for almost a year now. Now Kuwabara's apartment. Maybe he was guessing Keiko had called him. Maybe he was just desperate at this point, but for whatever reason, he knocked on the door. No answer. He glanced through the peephole; it didn't do much for his side of the door. He leaned in, and with a jolt, the door swung inward.

"Guh!" Yusuke had bumped his head on the edge of the foyer. _Lousy landlords can't buy decent doorknobs..._ He rubbed his head and looked into the tiny apartment. It was too tiny. Right in front of his face, in fact, because two feet away from him, Kuwabara was sleeping on the couch with his arms wrapped around _his_ wife!

Yusuke had an internal battle between curiosity and fury. _"What could possibly be the explanation for this?!"_ was the argument on both sides.

Yusuke's angrily slamming the door gave curiosity the upper hand. The sleeping pair stirred, and Kuwabara opened his eyes. When they landed on Yusuke, Kuwabara turned green.

"Urameshi..."

"What the_hell_ are you doing?!" Yusuke screamed. It was enough to wake Keiko with a start, and she stared wide-eyed at him in horror.

"Yusuke?" She shot to her feet.

"Are we all auditioning for some soap opera, here?" He couldn't control his breathing or his voice. "I know I screwed up, but THIS!" Pure shock. Never, in his entire life...especially Kuwabara!

"Yusuke, I'm sorry!" Keiko sobbed.

"WHY?!" He demanded inches from her face.

"Keiko," Kuwabara muttered gently enough to make Yusuke want to butcher him. "Go in the bathroom and get changed." He placed a hand on her shoulder as she sniffed, and Yusuke saw red.

Kuwabara got to his feet as Keiko grabbed her suitcase and went into the bathroom. He glared at Yusuke. "You are just full of it!" He spat.

"Oh!" Yusuke hollered. "_I'm_ full of it?" He was shaking in anger. "So you're just...totally justified!"

Kuwabara took a big step forward, so he and Yusuke were nose to nose. "It's not if I'm justified or not. Right now, I just want to piss you off!"

Kuwabara's world became a blur of colors. "Well! Mission accomplished, smart ass!" Kuwabara heard his best friend's voice as he landed hard on the floor. Nothing looked solid, bright and dark at the same time.

As Kuwabara spat out blood, Yusuke grabbed his collar and lifted him to his face. He swung his fist into Kuwabara's jaw.

_"Yusuke, stop!"_

Yusuke slammed Kuwabara's head into the wall.

_"Enough!"_

Yusuke held Kuwabara by the throat and threw his fist into his gut.

_"DAMMIT, YUSUKE! YOU'RE KILLING HIM!!!"_

Yusuke felt a familiar sting on his cheek.

He turned and saw Keiko. Furious and completely broken-hearted. Her hand held ready to slap his face again if need be. His anger dissolved. He felt defeated as he slowly set Kuwabara down.

"Fine." He shoved the tissues from the overturned coffee table into Kuwabara's bloodied hand. "It just doesn't matter anymore." He stormed toward the door, no longer bringing himself to care that his wife had run to Kuwabara's aid.

Keiko sat at Kuwabara's side, and watched helplessly as her husband slammed the door behind him.

* * *

Almost done editing next chappie (so much fun, I don't wanna really stop working on it, in fact!) Hope y'all enjoy, and hopefully I'll have more ideas.

--Peace, Tiemiosho


	3. 08:59

**Thanks for your patience, here you meet probably the only OC in this fic.**

* * *

**The Morning After**  
_By Tiemiosho_  
Chapter Three: 08.58

"You're in deep shit, Dad," Yusuke's teenager shrugged as she gulped down her black coffee. Yusuke, for the life of him couldn't understand how she could like coffee straight with no flavoring or cream, but from what he had heard, many demons loved the stuff, too.

_Thank you for your warm support, daughter._ Yusuke thought bitterly as he stirred his latte. Why did he go to Akira first, anyway? The bluntest, rudest, most insensitive child he had ever known? Other than himself, that is.

"So let me get this straight." Akira clarified as she set her coffee down. "You were out screwing around with your demon friends for days on end, came home, was _surprised_ that see that Mom decided to move out, looked for her for hours, then finally found her with your best friend, then beat him to within an inch of his life, even though he isn't that young anymore, is that right?" She inquired with a mixture of disdain and amusement. The way she squinted at him communicated whatever patronizing her diologue had left out.

"...yeah?" Yusuke braced himself for one of Akira's lectures. She had inherited her mother's smarts, that was _not_ good.

"Are you _retarded_?" Akira wasn't the emotional type that would make you feel obligated, or the preaching type that would annoy the crap out of you. She was the special genius type that would state what was apparently obvious and make you feel stupid. She never raised her voice, and Yusuke never remembered hearing her cry. She just had an excellent way of _forcing_ people to straighten up, whether it was beating their brains out or giving hard lectures that would make a grown man cry.

"You know Mom, right? She isn't exactly thrilled to have a bum like you as a husband."

Yusuke bit his lip.

"But obviously she loved you enough to be married to you for this long. Both good reasons why you shouldn't 've flaked out in the first place." Akira droned and leaned back into the booth seat.

"You know," Yusuke was getting more and more irritated by her by the second. He scoffed; he felt like shit already. "You don't seem too shocked that I found your mom with _another man!_"

Akira shook her head matter-of-fact-ly with another gulp. "You kinda neglected her, didn'tcha? So you basically forced her to fulfill her needs somewhere else."

Yusuke buried his face in his hands. Akira was right. Hell, she was always right. "How much does a 16-year-old know, anyway?" He muttered inaudibly.

Akira allowed a long pause before loudly slurping at the last remnants of her coffee. "Can't imagine how Tora's gonna take the news."

Yusuke looked up. "Why?" He had to beat around the bush when asking the triplets of they had heard from Keiko. As far as they knew, they were still all one big happy family.

"'Why?' Oh Dad, you know Tora!" Akira rolled her eyes. "He's still such a tender little guy. I mean, he still doesn't have the balls to ask his dorm tutor out. And he _idolizes_ you. How do you think he'll like to hear that his hero is a loser? And he's a _total_ momma's boy. I don't think he'll like to hear that you broke and Mom broke up."

True.

Yusuke's silence gnawed on Akira's nerves. She took another nervous glance at her watch. 9:04. "Look, Dad." She sighed. "I know you're having a tough time, having that fallout with Mom and all, but I really need to get to school."

Yusuke scowled at his youngest daughter. How could she put a stupid test over all this? "You know, sometimes I'm not even sure if you _are_ my kid!" The words flew out of his mouth too soon. Thoughts of Keiko and Kuwabara flew through his head.

"Maybe now is not a good time to go off on that tangent?" Akira suggested as her father banged his head on the table and moaned in agony.

"_I didn't mean to think that_!" Yusuke sat up and winced at his own made-up thoughts, grabbing fistfuls of hair.

"We can do a paternity test if it would make you feel better."

"Shaddup," Yusuke pouted, elbows on the table and hair still in his hands.

There was a long pause, as Akira waited for her father to finish up his latte. He didn't even touch it.

She sighed loudly again, and Yusuke noticed just how much she looked like her mother. Brown hair cropped short, and thick enough to look puffy and girly. Same face, same eyes...

"Dad, I'm guessing you're making me skip English class _on test day_ because you want some advice." She straightened her trendy summer uniform and crossed her arms. Clearing her throat, Akira leaned across the table to look her father square in the eyes. "So here goes, you got centuries on end available for you to screw around. But Mom has only so much time to live."

Ouch. _Thanks for reminding me._

"This is _her_ time, Dad. But we all know you too well. You just aren't capable of giving her what she needs."

This is what Yusuke meant in that part about Akira's lectures making grown men cry. He recalled over twenty years ago, fighting Toguro.

_"You have no idea what it's like, do you? To lose your beloved?" Toguro's voice, however, remained dry of emotion, like it always was._

_"No and I never will because I won't let that happen." Those were the jinxing words flying out of Yusuke's mouth. So ironically foreshadowing. "I actually look forward to growing old _with_ her."_

It was almost as if Toguro _knew_ that Yusuke would become a demon, although unintentional in his case and without the "selling your soul" part.

"Kuwabara's just more focused than you. He can really dedicate himself to something--Mom needs stability like that. And, I guess just as important, he's a _human._" Akira looked thoughtfully at the table's ugly white surface. "I don't think demons should be with humans."

"Oh, so you're going all separate-but-equal on humans, now?" Yusuke scoffed. "Lemme remind you that _I_ chose for you to be born a demon!" Yes, Yusuke's children were well-educated about their demon-mixed heritage and the goofy genetics behind it.

"Yeah, you were hammered that night, spare me the details. Just drink your damn coffee!" Akira was getting a little edgy. "Think! Granddaddy Raizen fell in love with a human woman, then starved himself to death after she died 'cuz he missed her so. And did you ever wonder why Kuwabara never actually confessed his love to Yukina?"

"You know about Kuwabara and Yukina?" That was _way_ far back when Kuwabara last had his goofy speeches about his undying love for Yukina. Yusuke had no clue that his kids would have any idea about that stuff so far back.

"All life's mysteries can be answered through Botan's wide open mouth."

_Should've known._

"I guess Kuwabara loves Yukina enough not to tell her. He doesn't want her falling in love with a him and then watching his fragile human body wither and die. That'd be a little rude."

"And so maybe Keiko caught on?" Yusuke didn't need a reply. He knew what he had to do.


	4. 09:14

**Okay, decided we will see more of Akira. Very interesting father/daughter relationship there. I'm really liking this story. Kinda stretching out some new writing styles. What I'm aiming for is the reader to get a clear view of what is going on and have that vivid presence in the story without drowning in info. Gotta admire folks like J.K. Rowling who manage that for 500 pages!  
**

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The Morning After 

By Tiemiosho

Chapter 4: 10.12

"Yusuke, do you have any idea what you're asking me?"

"Yeah, sure, I ask for a species change on a whim--_Of course I know what I'm doing_!" Yusuke pounded on Koenma's desk. "Just tell me what I need to do!" The objects on Koenma's desk quaked from his voice as well as his violent acts on the desk.

"Yusuke," Koenma sighed in defeat, and looked up at his former detective. "There's nothing I can do."

"Well--Toguro got turned a demon as a prize for winning the Dark Tournament, what, 70 years ago?" It didn't make any sense.

Koenma steadied the rattling instruments on his desk. "Yusuke..." He hadn't dealt with situations like this very often and, unfortunately, he couldn't avoid them completely. And even then, none of them had been quite like Yusuke's.

Because Yusuke was a stubborn ass.

"Toguro's change was done by the Tournament committee. Even I don't know exactly how they did it. And it's much easier to turn a human into a demon then the other way around."

"Huh!" Yusuke stepped back and stared out the office window. He shoved his hands in his pockets and started to look more like the the sour-faced teen Koenma had met a score ago. He admittedly hadn't changed much.

"I shouldn'tve stopped Hiei, then. When he cut her with that demon blade."

"Yusuke, don't be absurd!" Koenma reprimanded. But the former detective scoffed and stepped towards the door.

"I'm just going, okay? If you aren't gonna help…"

Koenma stood on his seat. "I'm sorry, Yusuke. I'll do whatever I can to figure something out for you. But I'm afraid by the time I do, Keiko will be gone, anyhow."

Yusuke stopped, and flung an odd smile over his shoulder. "I'll look into it, anyway. I don't wanna be _too_ far behind."

Koenma tried to blow the defeat out of his system as Yusuke shut the door behind. Perfect time for Yusuke to be dealing with the problems with human mortality. Genkai's scheduled death was approaching; the lifetime of training with spirit energy had extended her life well into her nineties, and she still could take long hikes without getting winded. She had gone beyond a reasonable age to fight, but seemed to do as well as any physically fit 60-year-old woman. Within a few months, she would die quietly in her sleep, the death that her lifestyle used to seem keen to avoid.

In a flash decision Koenma's lifetime job had brought him accustomed to, Koenma took a gamble in a split second and ran with it. A survival technique he supposed he acquired from Yusuke himself. In Spirit World, time went on forever, but there was never enough of it. "Ayame?"

The poised ferry woman stepped through the walls into the office. "Sir?" she answered politely.

"Try to find all you can on any cases where a demon or half-demon was able to transfer into a full human."

03.50

Akira clasped the envelope. "What's this?"

"Arrangements," Yusuke blurted. "The house, custody, all that stuff I would rather not have to legally deal with. Almost all of the stuff is under your mom's name, anyway."

"Would you like to clue me in on anything?" Akira waved the manila envelope jadedly. "Or would you rather let me tell Mom that you're at Hooters for all I know."

"And would you like to learn about a little thing called 'being discreet?'" Yusuke snarled. "You only have to live with your mom for two more years. Could you _try_ not to make her life a living hell for that long?" Akira's unsubtle and brute disposition did not rub well with Keiko.

"I'll try," Akira waved the envelope offhandedly. "And in the meantime, could _you_ try not to be stupid?"

"Fine! Tell me what I'm supposed to do, genius!"

"How about not putting your kids in the middle of this!" Akira shoved the envelope in her father's face, allowing the car to swerve dangerously over the median.

"EYES ON THE ROAD!" Yusuke slammed the envelope on the dashboard.

"_You_ talk to Mom!" Akira adjusted the steering wheel. "Don't have any middle-man -- or woman."

Yusuke scoffed. "How can I talk to her? Even _look_ at her?"

Akira scoffed back. "You have eyes. You have a mouth and a voice box And I haven't taken out your lungs yet. I don't see any reason why you can't."

"It's my dignity that's missing," Yusuke muttered and leaned back on the seat.

"You'll just have to work that out, Dad." Akira clicked her teeth and flipped on the radio.

"Turn that shit off! What kind of kid listens to Pink Ladies anymore!?"

"You leave Pink Ladies out of this! They have nothing do do with your anti-social disorders!"

Yusuke dived for the radio button, but Akira got there first.

"Oh, and what'd you listen to?! _Linkin Park_?"

"At least they play actual MUSIC!"

"All I hear is bawling about their sucky lives! But maybe that _works_ for you!"

"Bitch!"

WAP!

"OW! How dare you hit your father!"

"You're a lousy father, that's how I dare!"

"Shut up! Turn that crap off!"

"You're full of crap! _You_ shut up!"

"Okay! You proved your point! I'm a loser!"

"Holy cow! You _learned_ something!"

"AKIRA--!"

Glass bits flew like pebbles and they lurched sideways. The noisy disco cackled and sputtered.

They spun and the car crunched around them. Everything became a whirl of colors. Crunching metal jerked again as they bounced. Yusuke's stomach sailed.

The car rolled seven or eight times before slowly creaking to a stop.

"Akira!" Yusuke coughed at the smoking radio. "You okay?"

"Sure!" Akira's arms dangled over her head on the crumpled ceiling. "You know, this is _my_ car!"

Yusuke kicked out the passenger door. "_You _crashed it!"

"_You_ grabbed the steering wheel and drove us through the wrong lanes _and_ off the road! OW!" Akira bumped her head on the ceiling as she unbuckled. The two crawled out of the car and into the grass.

"Shit, it's totaled." Akira observed the damage. The gray car lay crumpled on its back. Two tires were missing, and the front was wadded.

"'Kay, Akira!" Yusuke shoved her behind him. This was the perfect opportunity.

"Stand back!" Yusuke warned, and he pointed his finger at the car, aiming at the gas tank.

"What the--?"

BOOM! Yusuke fired a small spirit gun, which was more than enough to ignite the fuel. The explosion knocked Akira off her feet.

"Sunnuva--!" She knew all her life about her father's spirit abilities, but had never seen them at work.

"Awright!" Yusuke helped his daughter up. "You were able to get out of the car before it exploded, but I just couldn't make it. 'Kay?"

"Nuh-uh!" Akira broke Yusuke's grip when he got her to her feet. "I can't believe this! Do you really think anyone is going to buy this? A Mazoku demon died in a car accident?"

"Why not?" Yusuke threw his hands in the air. "I did it before, I can do it again!"

"Kuwabara's right." Akira folded her arms. "You _are_ full of it."

"Whatever!" Yusuke screamed. The world was slipping through his fingers. "You're just a smart-ass little teen who doesn't know _anything_!!"

"Well, at least _I_ act my age!"

"You know what?!" Yusuke heaved furiously. He hesitated.

Akira scowled at him. "_What?_" she snarled.

Yusuke shook his head. He sighed. After all morning, it really hit him. "I . . . I love your mom, Akira. I'm a total ass to her, but I really do..."

"Just loving her isn't enough, Dad." Akira shed her anger, too. "I might not agree with her on much, but she's still my mom. Nothing's gonna change that. But it's different for you."

Yusuke plopped on the grass, resting his elbows on his knees. The burning car waved around in the hot air. "Why couldn't of you told me when you were two years old and wouldn't shut up?"

"Because I didn't know that I was gonna have to mother my own dad." Akira sat next to him and glared at her loafers. Her cute little bows were a mess in her hair. The school uniform was grass and soot-stained.

"When I first realized that I was a demon..." Yusuke looked at Akira. She looked exactly like Keiko. But she acted more like himself. He guessed that's why he always talked to Akira. Even if she was slightly cruel and unsympathetic, she still understood him. "Keiko was the first thing I worried about. I was scared that being a demon would change me, and it did."

"I sure hope so." Akira got to her feet. "I'd hate to think that you're like this on purpose." She yanked a cute cell phone from her pocket and walked toward the steep hill to the road.

Yusuke was infuriated. "SO!" He shouted at Akira. "You're just gonna walk away! Fine! Go ahead! It seems to be the thing for _everybody _today!"

Akira spun around. "You're the one who's walking!" she screamed. "Correction: you're _running_! It seems like the _only_ thing you're good at!"

"What's there left to run from?" Yusuke felt some uninvited moisture in his eyes. "I lost my wife, I lost my best friend, I lost my kids' respect..."

"Well, that sucks! Guess you should've seen it coming!" Yusuke could almost swear that Akira was mocking him, but something told him she was near crying too.

He couldn't think of anything to say; it was a miracle he lasted this long in an argument with Akira. She was strong. He had really screwed up to be able to hurt his youngest daughter.

Yusuke could just stand there and watch her march up the steep hill to flag down some help.


	5. 00:00

**The Morning After  
**_By Tiemiosho_  
Chapter Five: 00.00

The bench felt cold; it was Valentine's day, after all. And in the mountains. He was in his eighties, too. Hard to stay warm when you're that old. He could still outrun most teenage kids, still walk all they way up the almost infinite stairs to the temple without losing his breath. But when somebody hits their eighties, they realize that no matter how in-shape they are, they won't last too much longer. Maybe the icy hand of death drawing constantly near was why they were always so cold, cheesy as it sounds.

"Urameshi, you're late." The funny thing about demons was that they never change. Urameshi looked the exact same as he did forty years ago.

"...Kuwabara?" And the funny thing about humans, was that they never stay the same. His white hair had retreated to the base of his neck. He wasn't six feet tall anymore. Loose skin bunched over his hands like an over-sized glove. His nose and ears were huge.

"She died in her sleep last night," Kuwabara gazed serenely at the bare trees. "She just wanted to see you..."

Yusuke gazed at the sleeping gray moss. He didn't know what to say.

"I'm sorry! Okay?"

Yusuke looked up. Kuwabara glared up at him from the bench. "If you're angry, then blame it on me! But it wasn't Keiko's fault!"

"You took away my wife..." Yusuke droned monotonously at his old friend. "And you took away our friendship...I-I don't know which is worse."

Kuwabara fell silent and watched a tiny ant venture outside a month too soon.

"Did Koenma find something to turn you back human?" he finally dared to ask. His voice was different, too. Grating and a little bit wheezy. It was painful to listen to.

Yusuke nodded. "But what's the use? To little, too late. Forty years without you guys. I can handle a few centuries more."

Kuwabara's gnarled hands brushed an old leaf from last year's fall from the bench. "It was my mistake. I could stay away from Yukina, but...it was different with you and Keiko. There would be no fair way out of it for you. I shouldn't have encouraged her either way."

"Well, what were the options?" Yusuke shrugged. "Get old, let our marriage just painfully wear off like that. You did me a favor." Yusuke shoved his hands in his pockets bitterly and looked back at the cold ground. "Just like ripping off a band-aid."

Kuwabara narrowed his eyes. Urameshi didn't mean a word he said, and he knew it. He sucked at bluffing.

"Urameshi, I missed ya. Keiko did too."

Yusuke stared long and hard at the ground. "I missed you guys, too."

The men let a long wave of silence pass in the quiet, dead mountainside. They were still friends.

"Shit," Yusuke shook his head and gave Kuwabara an odd grin. "Why'd you guys have to grow old?"

Kuwabara bit the inside of his cheek. He hated rhetorical questions.

Yusuke sat by his friend. "I'm sorry, man. I'm a sucky friend."

"Just a little." Kuwabara smiled the slightest bit. "You know, I've been wondering..."

Yusuke glanced at the old man.

"What made you decide to come back?" Kuwabara asked. Keiko had been sick for years, and Yusuke knew it. He had hadplenty of time to visit.

Yusuke smirked. "Nothing other than Akira bringing over her little grandkids to gawp at their lazy-ass-dipshit-bastard of a great-grandfather. I told her that she shouldn't use that language around four-year-olds, so then she chewed my ass out about how I did the same and to shut the fuck up and go see Keiko."

Kuwabara scoffed. "Your kids are some characters. Did you know Tora's son was born last week?"

"Yeah, he sent me the pictures." Yusuke smirked. "Ugliest damned thing I ever saw. Kinda weird how he's younger than his great-nephews and neices. Demon families are a party."

The two men smiled for a while. The clouds passed by, and a pale sun turned the world a little brighter then their eyes could take. It sucked that time could go by so fast, and they were just about out of it. Yusuke could barely remember a time where they knew they'd be best pals forever.

"Hey, Kuwabara?"

"Yeah?" 

Still like old times, right?No more arcade, no more trying to beat the crap outta eachother, but still like old times in its own weird way. Who knows? Maybe someday it can be like that for real, and they'd be two irresponsible schoolkids again.

"When you decide you've lived your life and go to Spirit World, save a spot for me close by, kay?"

Kuwabara gave a wide grin. "Sure thing." 

**UGH! _Lame_ ending! But I needed some way to close the story. It's kinda bittersweet-ish. I can't write angst, so I settle for poignant.**


End file.
